Prophesy – prophets and loss of love

Prophesy

The love story of Helen of Troy and Paris is the inspiration for a new play opening this month at Blackhall Studios about the notion of self-identity in children.

Prophesy, set in the contrasting worlds of Troy and Sparta, takes classical literature’s famous lovers as its main characters, and explores the moments in their respective childhoods when they receive prophesies that eventually bring about the destruction of their families and worlds.

The play is the work of Baz Productions, a young company whose inaugural production of Macbeth was nominated for four Off West End awards in 2011. For the follow up they’ve tried something different, with the whole cast devising a new play through improvisation.

“We work a lot with improvisation so it seemed an exciting idea to take those improvisations and let them become the show,” says the play’s director, Sarah Bedi. “I’ve always had a fascination with Helen of Troy and Greek myth, and the idea of putting ‘the most beautiful woman in the world’ on stage.”

But the company challenges the idea of Helen’s mythical beauty by casting a male actor in the role, and conversely Paris is played by a woman.

“It’s not about making people believe what they see but making people experience what they see,” she explains. “I felt if we took away any possibility that the actor could be the most beautiful woman in the world, it gives the audience a more enjoyable leap of imagination and allows audience members to become part of the story-telling.”

However, don’t expect Spartan warrior attire or other trappings of Ancient Greece, as the company wants to create an unconventional theatrical experience outside of a traditional theatre setting.

“We are trying to set the story in a timeless time. The set will be minimal, simply a modern setting into which we’re introducing the idea of many gods and oracles and prophecy.”

Prophesy
Until 2 March 2013
Blackall Studios
Leonard Street
EC2 4QS